Segregation and co-occurrence of larval cestodes in freshwater fishes in the Bothnian Bay, Finland

Parasitology ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. I. Andersen ◽  
E. T. Valtonen
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Cestode Species ◽  
Larval Population ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Bothnian Bay ◽  
Diphyllobothrium Latum

SUMMARYTwo autogenic (Triaenophorus crassus and T. nodulosus) and four allogenic (Diphyllobothrium latum, D. dendriticum, D. ditremum and Schistocephalus solidus) larval cestode species were found in 13 out of 31 fish species studied from the Bothnian Bay, NE Baltic. Gasterosteus aculeatus was the most heavily infected fish with 4 larval cestode species; for two of them (D. ditremum and S. solidus) the three-spined stickleback was found to be the required fish intermediate host. Among allogenic cestode species, those restricted to different definitive host species segregated their larval population in relation to the fish host, while, for example, D. ditremum and S. solidus, both maturing in fish-eating birds, had the highest percentage of co-occurrences. D. dendriticum, which had the widest range of definitive hosts, was found in the greatest number (8) of fish species and co-occurred with all other species found except T. crassus. The two autogenic species totally segregated their larval population from each other although they both require pike as definitive host. The ecological and evolutionary relationships behind the patterns found for larval cestodes are discussed.

On the infracommunity structure of adult cestodes in freshwater fishes

Parasitology ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. I. Andersen ◽  
E. T. Valtonen
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Freshwater Fishes ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Evolutionary Explanation ◽  
Cestode Species ◽  
Bothnian Bay

The distribution–co-occurrence and exchange of adult cestode species in two fish communities (the Bothnian Bay and Lake Yli-Kitka both in Finland) was studied. Coexistence of two or more mature cestode species in the same fish host population was zero for all fish species studied (33) except pike in the Bothnian Bay and whitefish in the lake. It was found that 60% of the fish species studied in the Bothnian Bay and 80% of the fish species studied from Lake Yli-Kitka harboured only 1 mature cestode species. Exchange of adult cestode species between the different fish species in these two fish communities was found to be as rare as coexistence. The infra-community structure of adult cestodes in freshwater fish thus turned out to be markedly different from what is known to be the situation in birds. The evolutionary explanation behind the differences is discussed.

Host mortality and variability in epizootics of Schistocephalus solidus infecting the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus

Parasitology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (11) ◽  
pp. 1681-1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. HEINS ◽  
E. L. BIRDEN ◽  
J. A. BAKER
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Intensity Of Infection ◽  
Host Fish ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Second Intermediate Host ◽  
Host Mortality ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽  
Host Behaviour

SUMMARYAn analysis of the metrics of Schistocephalus solidus infection of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, in Walby Lake, Alaska, showed that an epizootic ended between 1996 and 1998 and another occurred between 1998 and 2003. The end of the first epizootic was associated with a crash in population size of the stickleback, which serves as the second intermediate host. The likely cause of the end of that epizootic is mass mortality of host fish over winter in 1996–1997. The deleterious impact of the parasite on host reproduction and increased host predation associated with parasitic manipulation of host behaviour and morphology to facilitate transmission might also have played a role, along with unknown environmental factors acting on heavily infected fish or fish in poor condition. The second epizootic was linked to relatively high levels of prevalence and mean intensity of infection, but parasite:host mass ratios were quite low at the peak and there were no apparent mass deaths of the host. A number of abiotic and biotic factors are likely to interact to contribute to the occurrence of epizootics in S. solidus, which appear to be unstable and variable. Epizootics appear to depend on particular and, at times, rare sets of circumstances.

The consequences of self-fertilization and outcrossing of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus in its second intermediate host

Parasitology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. CHRISTEN ◽  
M. MILINSKI
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Mixed Mating ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Second Intermediate Host

Many hermaphroditic parasites reproduce by both cross-fertilization and self-fertilization. To understand the maintenance of such mixed mating systems it is necessary to compare the fitness consequences of the two reproductive modes. This has, however, almost never been done in the context of host–parasite coevolution. Here we show the consequences of outcrossing and selfing in an advanced life-stage of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus, i.e. in its second intermediate host, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Each juvenile stickleback was simultaneously exposed to 2 experimentally infected copepods, one harbouring outcrossed the other selfed parasites. At 60 days p.i. parasites were removed from the fish's body cavity and, with microsatellite markers, assigned to either outcrossed or selfed origin. Prevalence was not significantly higher in outcrossed parasites. However, those fish that were infected contained significantly more outcrossed than selfed parasites. Thus the probability of a selfed parasite to progress in the life-cycle is reduced in the second intermediate host. Furthermore, we found that even the multiply infected fish increased in weight during the experiment. Nevertheless, total worm weight in multiply infected fish was significantly lower than in singly infected ones, which thus might be a parasite life-history strategy.

scholarly journals Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host

Parasitology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 129 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. T. VALTONEN ◽  
E. HELLE ◽  
R. POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Paratenic Host ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Parasite Population ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Bothnian Bay

In theory there should be a strong coupling between host and parasite population sizes. Here, we investigated population size and structure in 3 species of acanthocephalans, Corynosoma semerme, C. strumosum and C. magdaleni, in ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from the Bothnian Bay over a period of more than 20 years. During this period, seal numbers first decreased markedly and then increased steadily; at the same time, a paratenic fish host particularly important for C. strumosum has gradually disappeared from the bay due to decreasing salinity. We found no evidence that the mean abundance of any of the 3 acanthocephalan species changed significantly over time, nor was there any relationship between parasite abundance at any point in time and seal numbers in the corresponding year. Based on the proportion of sexually mature female worms per infrapopulation, and on relationships between the sex ratio of worms and infrapopulation size, both C. magdaleni and C. semerme appear to be doing well, independently of the population size of their seal definitive hosts. In contrast, perhaps because of the loss of its main paratenic host, C. strumosum appears more at risk in the Bothnian Bay. Our results show that in complex natural systems, there are not necessarily simple, direct links between definitive host population size or density, and parasite population dynamics.

Infections of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., with the plerocercoid larvae of Schistocephalus solidus (Müller, 1776), with special reference to pathological effects

Parasitology ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Arme ◽  
R. Wynne Owen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Liver Weight ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
The Body ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Individual Host ◽  
Concurrent Infections ◽  
The Relationship

Infections are described of Gasterosteus aculeatus in a pond at Leeds with the plerocercoid larvae of Schistocephalus solidus.Very heavy infections were found in the summer of 1962 and early 1963; many fish harboured over 50 worms and the maximum was 130.For each individual host the relative percentage parasite-weight to host-weight has been determined (parasitization index). In more than 50% of the fish the P.I. exceeded 25; the maximum value was 68·5. The relationship between P.I., numbers of worms and weight of worms is described.Some effects of parasitization on the host are described; they include gross distension of the body, reduction of liver weight, reduction of packed cell volume of erythrocytes and delay in oocyte maturation. In some heavily parasitized individuals spawning is apparently inhibited.Concurrent infections with the microsporidian Glugea anomala are described.Our thanks are due to Mr A. Rennie, B.Sc., of the Yorkshire Ouse and Hull River Authority for drawing our attention to the source of infected sticklebacks, to Mr A. O. Holliday for the preparation of photographs and to Mr G. R. Standley for assistance in the preparation of the slide shown in PI. 1, fig. 3. We also wish to thank Dr J. N. Ball, Department of Zoology, University of Sheffield, for his helpful comments on the gonads of infected fish, and Professor J. M. Dodd, Department of Zoology, University of Leeds, for providing facilities and much helpful discussion. One of us (C. A.) gratefully acknowledges the receipt of a Science Research Council Research Studentship and Fellowship.

The Effect of Schistocephalus Solidus (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) On the Foraging and Shoaling Behaviour of Three-Spined Sticklebacks, Gasterosteus Aculeatus

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (15-16) ◽  
pp. 1223-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Barber ◽  
Felicity A. Huntingford
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Work ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Handling Time ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
The Body ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Shoaling Behaviour

AbstractIn this paper we review recent experimental work on the effects of the parasite Schistocephalus solidus (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) on the feeding behaviour of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.). We also discuss how increased feeding motivation and subsequent altered foraging behaviour may be a mechanism for parasite-associated changes in the shoaling behaviour of infected sticklebacks. The presence of S. solidus plerocercoids in the body cavity constricts the stomach, increases the handling time for large prey and consequently reduces the profitability of such prey for infected fish. This is reflected in a switch in dietary preference from large to small prey in the laboratory and in altered stomach contents and impaired nutrient reserves in the wild. By altering their hosts' nutritional state by direct competition for nutrients from digested food (and possibly indirectly by altering diet and reducing competitive ability) and also by altering the fishes' appearance, such parasites have the potential to alter the costs and benefits involved in joining a shoal of conspecifics. Experimental work on the shoaling decisions of S. solidus-infected sticklebacks supports this hypothesis, and such behavioural modification is discussed in the context of the manipulation hypothesis of parasite transmission.

Incidence and intensity of Cyathocephalus truncatus and Schistocephalus solidus infection in Gasterosteus aculeatus

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1091-1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Reimchen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Attachment Site ◽  
Relative Increase ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Host Feeding ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Queen Charlotte Islands ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Different Seasons

Cyathocephalus truncatus, a cestode usually found in salmonids, and plerocercoids of Schistocephalus solidus are reported from a population of Gasterosteus aculeatus on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Adult C. truncatus attached at the anterior of the intestine adjacent to the pyloric sphincter, whereas in salmonids the pyloric caeca is the usual attachment site. Mean intensities of infection for C. truncatus and S. solidus were 2.7 (maximum 26) and 3.4 (maximum 87), respectively, with intensities increasing in larger fish. The highest incidence of C. truncatus infection was from February to May (80%) and for S. solidus, from April to September (50%). Infection rates for C. truncatus during different seasons and among different length classes offish were directly correlated with the relative abundance of amphipods (the intermediate hosts of C. truncatus) in the fish stomachs. Possible modification of host feeding behaviour is indicated by a relative increase in the consumption of amphipods by infected fish.

Seasonal variations in the parasite infections in a population of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L.

Parasitology ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Pennycuick
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Research Council ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Parasite Infections

A population of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculealus, from a pond in Somerset was sampled about every three weeks for 19 months, a total of 1863 fish being collected. Three species of parasites were found in the fish: Schistocephalus solidus, Diplostomum gasterostei and Echinorhynchus clavula.Seasonal changes in the incidence and intensity of the three parasitic infections are described. In general the infections increased in summer and autumn and decreased in winter and spring, although in Schistocephalus the differences in the level of infection between the two years were greater than between seasons.The largest increases in the Schistocephalus and Echinorhynchus infections occurred in August and September and in the Diplostomum infection in May and June. These increases could be related to the feeding activity of the sticklebacks and to the abundance and level of infection of the Cyclops, Asellus and Limnaea pereger populations.Reduction in the sizes of the infections was by predation and death of heavily infected fish in the case of Schistocephalus and Diplostomum and mainly by death of individual worms in Echinorhynchus.These mechanisms are shown to be adapted to the life cycles of the parasites.I am most grateful to Dr H. D. Crofton for his help and encouragement during this investigation and to Dr R. A. Avery for useful discussions and advice. This work was supported by a Science Research Council research studentship and a NATO studentship.

scholarly journals The parasite Schistocephalus solidus secretes proteins with putative host manipulation functions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Suzanne Berger ◽  
Jérôme Laroche ◽  
Halim Maaroufi ◽  
Hélène Martin ◽  
Kyung-Mee Moon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Gene Prediction ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Complex Mixture ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Host Manipulation ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Phospholipid Scramblase ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus

ABSTRACTManipulative parasites are predicted to liberate molecules in their external environment acting as manipulation factors with biological functions implicated in their host’s physiological and behavioural alterations. These manipulation factors are expected to be part of a complex mixture called the secretome. While the secretomes of various parasites have been described, there is very little data for a putative manipulative parasite. Here, we used proteomics to characterize the secretome of a model cestode with a complex life cycle based on trophic transmission. We studied Schistocephalus solidus during the life stage in which behavioural changes have been described in its obligatory intermediate fish host, the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We re-sequenced the genome of S. solidus using a combination of long and short reads to improve protein coding gene prediction and annotation for this parasite species. We then described the whole worm’s proteome and its secretome during fish host infection, using LC-MS/MS. A total of 2 290 proteins were detected in the proteome of S. solidus, with 30 proteins detected only in the secretome. We found that the secretome contained proteases, proteins with neural and immune functions, as well as proteins involved in cell communication. We also detected Receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatases, which were reported in other parasitic systems to be strong manipulation factors. The secretome also contained a Phospholipid scramblase that clustered phylogenetically with a stickleback Phospholipid scramblase, suggesting it could have the potential to interfere with the function of the scramblase in the host’s brain. Finally, we detected 12 S. solidus-specific proteins in the secretome that may play important roles in host-parasite interactions. Our results suggest that this parasite liberates molecules with putative host manipulation functions in the host and that many of them are species specific.

Maintenance of Schistocephalus solidus in the Laboratory with Observations on Rate of Growth of, and Proglottid Formation in, the Plerocercoid

1969 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. C. Orr ◽  
C. A. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Statistical Evidence ◽  
Fresh Weight ◽  
Rate Of Growth ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
Mesocyclops Leuckarti

Procedures for the maintenance of Schistocephalus solidus in the laboratory are described: recovery of eggs from low bulk faeces; incubation and hatching of eggs at 25 C; and infection of Cyclops agilis, Diaptomus gracilis, and Mesocyclops leuckarti with procercoids that at 25 C become infective in 10, 8, and 8 days, respectively. Methods for infecting Gasterosteus aculeatus with specific numbers of plerocercoids, and procedures for maintaining infected sticklebacks, are described. The rate of growth of S. solidus in G. aculeatus at 19 C has been determined up to day 83, by which time plerocercoids are infective and weigh 50 mg fresh weight. The problem of speciation in Schistocephalus is discussed with reference to the conflicting evidence concerning the number of proglottids in the plerocercoid. Statistical evidence shows the number of proglottids increases slowly during growth contrary to previous statements, and ontogenesis is discussed with reference to metamerism. Problems of growth of Schistocephalus in the fish host are enumerated.

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